[Stevens706]

In the past I have used washing up liquid to spray on whitefly etc and it seems to work OK, but I keep seeing mentioned using horticultural soap, is there any difference? and what does everyone else use?

[mumofstig]

washing up liquid..........cos it's always there, so I don't have to remember to buy something else  

[BADBACK]

EYUP
what mix do you use ?
ie  how much washup liquid per pint of water
can it be made too strong and damage plants ?

[Runwell-Steve]

I use washing up liquid and use about 1 tsp per 1.5 litre of water that goes in my sprayer, seems to work for me.  I'd be interested to know what mix others use.

Is their a better or worse washing up liquid to use, I use Lemon Fairy.

[JayG]

Runwell-Steve is posher than me; I use Tesco brand lemon washing up liquid (his hands are probably softer than mine though!)

Dilution similar to his; don't think it's critical but wouldn't go any stronger as even though there is nothing particularly "nasty" in washing up liquid it seems sensible to not use more than enough to work (and it does!)

[Runwell-Steve]

I only use Fairy as that's what the OH keeps next to the kitchen sink.  The only thing I use it for is keeping the bugs at bay, does it have another use?

[JayG]

Dunno (not really an expert on fairies!!) 

[Stevens706]

thans for your replies, I just buy Wilkinsons cheep stuff and it works fine for whitefly, however on Beachgrove garden the presenter said that for controlling gooseberry sawfly caterpillars use horticultural soap, just wondered if it was better than washing up liquid.

[peterjf]

once you have sprayed with fairy liquid does the plants go nice n soft , and do int white fly black fly squeek when they climb back up ,

[JayG]

thans for your replies, I just buy Wilkinsons cheep stuff and it works fine for whitefly, however on Beachgrove garden the presenter said that for controlling gooseberry sawfly caterpillars use horticultural soap, just wondered if it was better than washing up liquid.

That's a slightly different question from your original one!

Not used it but from what you say horticultural soap will do a job on aphids and gooseberry sawfly caterpillars but I have not heard of washing up liquid being effective on anything other than aphids...............

[mumofstig]

According to a 5 minute google......wash up liquid doesn't kill the caterpillars, but is effective on the eggs
and a point of interest........ 1 site says that baby shampoo is better as it has very small amount of a fungicide in it  

[Trillium]

This says it better than I ever could. I prefer to use insecticidal soap as I'm allergic to most washing up soaps.

http://versicolor.ca/lawns/notes/soaps.html

[Aunt Sally]

I use soft soap as it is in my estimation much more effective than detergents (washing up liquid)

http://www.theonlinegardener.com/product.asp?prod=1000194

[Yabba]

once you have sprayed with fairy liquid does the plants go nice n soft , and do int white fly black fly squeek when they climb back up ,

¥

[arugula]

Couple of questions about this, sorry to rehash an old thread. 

Since the weekend, we've sprung an outbreak of greenfly (never seen them in this garden before) on the tomatoes which has spread to the peppers and chillis. We've been spraying with washing up liquid solution, but it doesn't seem to having any effect whatsoever.  We use the eco*** brand because its kinder to the septic tank, but does anyone know if there is some vital ingredient missing which would be in normal washing up liquid? 

Aunt Sally, you mention soft soap and a website link which won't give me details. Is this likely to be the same soft soap as my workplace sells for washing horses?